Howard,
Thank you for the Prana Dynamics online seminars. I am enjoying them. For the last three years, I have been developing that sense of nei jin, and moving an opponent without them sensing muscular force. It began to awaken in me one day and I want to pursue it further.
I am blessed to have a partner in this training. She assists me in teaching Taekwondo to children in our after-school program (she has 4 children of her own in the classes). Apart from Taekwondo, she and I practice Taijiquan. She is several years behind me in her training, but actually, that is helpful because she is open to learning. Also, her being a woman is helpful, as she is not as combative or resistant as a man. So, I have been helping her experience the use of the fascia and nei jin, and it has been very helpful for me to grow in my experience of it (since I can experiment on her). I have so much to learn, but your talks have been very reaffirming. Again, thank you.
I taught Taekwondo for 15 years for my master, but last year started my own school. It is called Taijido Kwan, and the goal is to bring together Taekwondo and Taijiquan. While martial arts are the framework, the essence is the development of true human beings. The children learn Taekwondo, and I teach Taijiquan to my adult parishioners. I do not charge for lessons, but offer what I have learned as a ministry to others who seek to grow.
Your talks about the trinity are fascinating to me, obviously because that pattern is found throughout nature, but also because Catholics teach God as a trinity. Beyond that, Christian mysticism is based on the trinity of body, mind, and heart. The body has a certain way of knowing, but it is rudimentary. The mind is a higher knowing through “reason.” But the mystics teach that the heart is the place of true and pure knowing. It is an intuitive, universal knowing, which goes beyond definitions and reason. We call this direct experience of the heart “union with God.” To “know” we must “not know,” for anything we say we know is limited and defined.
So, I am enjoying the seminars on many levels. I appreciated that you said martial arts is only one manifestation of what you are teaching. That thought is exciting.
Blessings,
Fr. Guy Roberts
